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Jan. 24, 1956 J. B. TAYLOR 2,732,134;

ADJUSTABLE RAIL. BRACE FISE- W f @l if ,e f/ f i@ 10 5./ l f /ff mirl! --HII Ii f V I.

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United States Patent ADJUSTABLE RAIL BRACE John B. Taylor, Johnstown, Pa., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application March 4, 1953, SerialNo. 340,259

1 Claim. (Cl. 23S- 292) The present invention relates generally to railroad rail bracing equipment and more particularly to an 'adjustable rail brace. v

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved adjustable rail brace which is simple and rugged in construction and which may be serviced and maintained after installation with no disturbance to the railroad bed, ties, tie plates and rails.

'I'he nature of the invention and its distinguishing features and advantages will be fully apparent from the fol lowing detailed disclosure and the appended claim when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: l

Figure l is a plan view of the rail brace of my invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line II--II of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal view taken `on the line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the bolt slot in the tie plate;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line V-V of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line VI-VI of Figure 5.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2 designates a tie plate adapted to be mounted on a railroad tie (not shown) in the conventional manner. Tie plate 2 is provided with a rail seat 4 for receiving the base B of a railroad rail R. An abutment 6 is welded or otherwise fastened across the tie plate spaced from the rail seat 4. The rail R is adjustably maintained in position in the rail seat by means of an adjustable brace4 member 8 which at one end 10 engages the base and head of the rail and at its other end 12 is supported by a wedge 14 which is slidably iitted between the brace member and the abutment 6. The outer face of the wedge 14 is in clined and the inner face of the abutment 6 is undercut, as best seen in Figure 2, so as to provide additional safeguard against accidental vertical displacement of the wedge. The shaft 16 of a bolt 18 projects upwardly from the tie plate to engage the brace member 8 and a locking plate 20 which are provided with a vertical aperture 22 and a hole 24, respectively, for receiving the bolt shaft. The head 26 of the bolt 18 is disposed in an elongated bayonettype opening or vertical hole 28 provided through the tie plate adjacent the rail seat 4.

'Ille brace member 8 has upstanding ends 30 and an integral overhanging cover 32 which extends outwardly to the abutment 6 from the side 12 of the brace member when the brace member is in its outermost position toward the abutment. Aperture 22 extends vertically through the mid-portion of the brace member and consists of two portions 34 and 36 and vertical shoulders 38 therebetween. Portion 34 of the aperture is substantially trapezoidal in shape and is of greater cross-sectional area than portion 36 which is shaped to engage the shaft 16 of the bolt 18. The outer edge 40 of the aperture portion 34 lies beyond the face 42 of the wedge 14. Portion 36 is bounded by a 2,732,134 Patented Jan. 24,1956

semicircular boss 44 which extends from one of the verti' cal shoulders 38 to the other for providing a bearing surface for the shaft 16 of the bolt 18.

Wedge 14 is provided with vertical serrations 48 across the full thickness thereof throughout the mid-portion of its length along the inner face 42 which is adjacent to the brace 8.

The locking plate 20 which engages the shaft ofthe bolt through its hole 24 is provided with a stud 50 depending from its underside adjacent the hole 24. When the locking plate is in position on the brace member, the stud 50 tits into the portion 34 of the aperture 22. The inner side 52 of the stud bears against the vertical shoulders 38. The outer side 54 of the stud is provided with serrations 56 which are adapted to interlock with the serrations 48 on the wedge. The serrations on the stud are adapted to engage the full width of the serrations on the wedge so as to provide a positive interlock therebetween. The outer portion of the locking plate is in the form of an overhanging lip 58 which extends outwardly over the overhanging cover 32. I

In operation, the tie plate is aiiixed to the railroad tie by means of spikes, or other similar conventional fastenings, and the rail is seated on the rail seat 4 of the tie plate. The bolt 18 may then be inserted into the hole 28 from above the tie plate. The top portion of hole 28 is of less cross-sectional area than the bottom portion thereof so as to provide a horizontal shoulder 60 between the top and the bottom of the ltie plate. Thus, the bolt 18 may be inserted from above the tie plate and then moved forward with the brace member toward the rail seat so as to position the head 26 under the shoulder 60 and thereby be held from vertical displacement when the brace member is adjusted into the desired position.

After the bolt has been positioned, the brace member 8 is positioned loosely on the tie plate with the bolt shaft passing upwardly through the portion 36 of the aperture 22, then the wedge 14 is driven into the opening between the brace member and the abutment 6 the desired distance to properly position the rail R. The brace member 8 may be positioned loosely on the tie plate before the bolt is inserted if desired. The locking plate 20 is then placed on the shaft of the bolt with the stud 50 fitting into the portion 34 of the aperture 22. In this position, the serrations 56 on the outer side of the stud engage the serrations 48 on the side of the wedge and the inner face of the stud engages the vertical shoulders 38. A suitable spring washer 62 may then be placed on the projecting end of the bolt shaft 16 and a cap nut 64, which encloses the projecting end of the bolt shaft, threaded on the projecting end of the bolt shaft to hold the brace in position against the rail R so as to maintain itin the desired position. The cap nut protects the projecting end of the bolt shaft from corrosive action by the elements or from salt drippings from passing refrigerator cars.

Thus it may be seen that the cap nut 64 and the wedge 14 function to hold the brace member in bracing position relative to the rail R. Even though the nut 64 may become loosened after the brace has been installed, the locking plate 20 will continue to function to hold the wedge in the proper position because of the interlocked engagement between the serrations on the stud 50 and the serrations on the wedge 14.

Due to the size and weight of the locking plate 20 and the engagement of the stud 50 at the inner side thereof with the vertical shoulders 38, interlocking of the serrations is securely maintained. The overhanging cover 32 of the brace member and the lip portion 58 of the locking plate provide protection against dirt and the like clogging the interlocking serrations of the wedge and the stud 50 so that readjustments of the brace to alter the rail position may be made easily and quickly.

The use of a single bolt for holding the brace member and locking plate together on the tie plate provides ample room for accommodating a wrench for loosening or tightening the brace during installation and subsequent readjustments.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, it will .be apparent that other adaptations and vmodifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

An adjustable device for bracing a railway rail comprising a tie plate having a rail seat thereon and an abutment thereacross spaced from said rail seat, said tie plate having an elongated hole extending vertically therethrough intermediate said rail seat and said abutment, an adjustable brace member mounted en said tie plate with one side thereof engaging-a rail disposed on said rail seat, an overhanging cover extending to said abutment from the side of said brace opposite said yone side, a wedge member disposed under said cover and laterally engaging said brace and said abutment for maintaining said brace .in position, said wedge having an inclined face on the side thereof adjacent said abutment, the side of said abutment facing said wedge being undercut to accommodate said inclined face, the inclined side of said wedge and the undercut face of said abutment being adapted to cooper ate to prevent vertical displacement of said wedge, the side of said wedge adjacent the brace being serrated, said brace member having a vertical aperture through the midportion thereof, said aperture having rst and second porA tions with vertical shoulders therebetween, said aperture communicating with the hole in said tie plate, a locking plate having a vertical opening therethrough and a stud depending therefrom, and means for holding said brace on said tie plate and securing said locking plate on fsaid 4 brace; said means including a cap nut, and a bolt having a head on one end and a shaft extending from said head, said bolt being disposed with its head in the bottom of the hole in said tie plate and its shaft extending upwardly therefrom and through said first portion of the aperture in said brace with its end projecting therefrom, a portion of the hole in said tie plate being of such size so as to permit passage of the head of said bolt therethrough and the remaining portion of said hole being of reduced size at the top of said tie plate so as to provide a shoulder between the top and bottom of said plate, the head of said bolt being adapted to bear against said last named shoulder to prevent vertical displacement of said bolt, said locking plate being disposed on said brace with its opening engaging the projecting end of said bolt shaft and said stud fitting into the second portion of said aperture, said nut being threaded on the projecting end of said bolt shaft above said locking plate, said cap nut being threaded on and enclosing the projecting end of said bolt shaft above said locking plate, serrations on the outer side of said stud engaging the serrations on said wedge, the inner side of said stud bearing against the Vertical shoulders in said aperture, said overhanging cover and said locking plate overlying and covering the interengaged serrations of said stud and said wedge.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,478,558 Edwards v.-- Dec. 25, 1923 1,501,319 Dooley July 15, 1924 1,863,248 McGrew June 14, 1932 1,863,274 McGrew June 14, 1932 2,356,080 Nordberg Aug. 15, 1944 2,515,678 Vickroy July 18, 1950 

